The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-11-27

An Opinion TINT the SAFEST Tnins 70 no ss 90
60 Ahead and Get IN Your Crep-The
Bureau Net 0uito As Good As IL Wa.

The Bedford Farmers Club is an o~rganiza-
tion OF farmers principally. and incidentally OF
politicians, merchants, and professional mon
inthe township Of Bedford. Westchester county.
Among the member are Speaker Hustled, OK
Collector Robertson. John Jay, and Henry e.
Pellew. The oldest farmers Of tho north OF
Westchester county are members. In pleasant
spring and summer weather the club meets on
the lawn In front OF one Of the members' houses
and displays on long tables choice boots, onor-
nous carrots, and bulgfhg cabbaees for zach
others admiration or envy. When winter sets
In the members sit indoors and listen to .
paper on a subject Interesting to farmers.
On Thursday the Bedford Farmers Club met
In the Mt. Kisco Opera House to listen to an es-
say by the Rev. Lea Luauer, rector ofthe Bedford
Protestant Episcopal Church. on THE Value
Of the Weather Bureau to Farmers" The
chance to talk about the weather attracted to
Mt. Kisco almost all tho aged members OF the
club and their wives. Among them were God
frey Haines and Joseph Haines, his brother.
Godfrey Haines is 90 years old and Joseph 81.
Both Of the old gentlemen wear satin stocks
and thigh collars when they leave their farms.
They both work every day. Another ia Bar
tholomew Gedney, SO years old, OF White
Plains, who can NOV as wide q swath a. any
man thereabouts. Others present wore the
Rev. J. H. Hoyt Of tho Bedford Presbyterian
Church. the Rev. G. w. Terbush OF the Mt.
Kisco Methodist Church. John Lee Fountain,
1. X. Bell, County Treasurer David Crom.
well, Robert 8. Haviland. Leonard Sutton,
w. A. Keller, Vice-President James Wood.
George W. Dunn. and A. Meade Clark,
all Of Bedford; the Rev. J. II. East
man Of Katonah Presbyterian Church;
Godfrey Haines, Joseph Banks. DR.. Har-
rison Teller Vice-Presiden John Green
Clark, and Charles Haines Of Mt. Kis-
co; Miles Adams. Supervisor Of Pound
Ridge. and James Fold. Supervisor OF
Somers. Tho meeting at the opera
house yesterday was brought about by the
Mt. Kisco members and their wives who
conspired to entertain the farmers with q gilt
edged collation.. Across one side OF the room
on a suspended slack wire a chintz curtain
was hung, and from behind the curtain vari-
GUS sounds indicating that something pleasant
was going on. and odors Of coffee sadly dis
turbed the old gentlemen. Perhaps from a
fear lest there should be a wild break OF the
old gentlemen to learn what was going on be-
yiands, the ladies' Of Nj: kise eS'I took x s seats ssi IN 3
body between the curtain and the farmers.
H The & sgsen Lea eisr Eu wss slf Sssan to h Rses esss, on
weather. as Old .Probabilitiess dispenses It to
the formers. by describing the, oLd-fashloned
ments OF birds, the actions Of animals, and
the appearance OF vegetation. Farmers got to
Concentrated wisdom in weather lore has been
banded d9 2 y nndt1o,dp US in weather saws; I'll They
spin, When i house nHe.s walls iasn are Wnd Damp sei when ' rheu ~
loud. when distant hills look near, when swine
streams sas.s9 s, when a., frogs change iro% green to
when dogs bark loud, and when smoke
from the chimney falls to tho ground. Mr..
while within the book were weather predic-
the contrary. Finally the essayisat described the
Weather Bureau system as 1t now carried on.
which they can get their newspapers in tho
msorninG. when weather prophecies would ben
the solid wealth Of the country with honest la
Dor, and tn ths government sho% I'D find z way to
death of Ger. Hazen and Gen. Powell. In the
last Sear the accurate weather predictions By
isssI. 4 per cent. tp 1882, s. per 'e cent, and in
lss3. SO per cent; Fruit growers in California,
Southern States bad acknowledSed their In
debtedness to the bureau, but 1t was doubtful
if T pSEdinqEF r. iarmers are W Ws, benehtsdE
Congress- in the last election, and one Of the
wealthisst iarmers in Westchester county.
W any farmer who has changed his work
on 9I account Sn1d OF d = GSS;y icy r a weather predictions
DlMsH ereh hSla " rms ne george F. Robinson,s hand
He L; 9 New Yorker" said Mr.. Wood.
up, and Chairman Clark also said he wa gov
erned by the Government predictions.
it I BY F Fnis,H j s aP E H.! w RssHeher Eastman farms
said am tSe if REV. NJ. vas Esst 2 Sunday school picnic"
4" / HnnpU whaf h ~, N NJ IL Lac - no-kf-
ued Mr., Wood. He cocks his eye up to the
sky Ia the morning and gets a newspaper in
1ns srt saRs It iis sP Rs w says: tc Tea, goa s ,es WI
Th old gentlemen ratified their canes on the
t fSST spa 1 TbIIs ~ u 6fart H. H.. tsf = ns Ssms t IPs9
Mr., Wood, continuing, said that the principle on
conducted was sound. but. it had not accom-
RPlhts a what It Was r. organized to accomplish;
be bnG p sGieeee T IN 1 less ,ss t tbhsanG q bannaadirresSG u Kss mot
Then Nj. Wood described The system Of inter
G Gnxorn 1--we weather 4; oSsS1yation hy wh ash the
points being on land and '226 on water. From
man a hundred years hence may, MI. Wood
believed, deduce natures laws Of meteorology
SO thSt # h. would ,hil be ,S Of use to farmers NJ. w.,
added. lis to 60 ahead and get in his crops"
By the Rev, M Luqper-Mr: Wood. did you ever have
.pay NJ 'I %ood T. r. 'P pl.. .iadsnsAi psi!onAl observation. ar.
not In order. Since ! went to Europe with Whitelaw
Reid and william Walter Phelps ono summer. and re-
turned too late to get in my crop of turnipRI which had
frozen. they want 70 guy me about 1t. ILauRhter.l As
TO the weather, ] believe the Old Testament IL true where
il says: He that oSseryeth the winds shall not SOW,
task undertaken by the Government is 100 much. Tho
"Somebody In England" Mr. Wood said,
!" was mean enough to put to the test some OF
very proper name. He showed that very, lit.
weather. For instance, halos about the sun
are said to predict rain. This was tested 1873
times, and 1875 times 1t was fair and z times Il
rained. Lunar halos had 1902 tests, and. 81
times 1t was fair and 81 times rainy. A white
strata Of cloud In q valley Is said to portend
rainy 81 days.
son the west coast Of ireland the Irish in olden
times believed that when 1t was going to rain q
monster came out OF HIS cave In the soa and
roared. 1t was, the roaring OF the breakers on
a distant island. When the air was dense with
moisture the sound Was brought to land, while
In clear weather 1t was inaudibls. The adage
resulted that when distant sounds were heard
as though they were nearer 1t would rain. Out
OF forty-flve tests twenty-five times the weather
next day was fair. and twenty-onet times rainy.
Smoke rising perpendicularly from q chimney
Is a sign OF fair weather the world around, and
In six tests ive times fair days followed. When
Ian vaa of yApatation droOn rain 10 o,ppoaai IN